Necessity is the mother of invention | Week 31 | #52wonderfilledweeks

It's Monday morning and I need more coffee, but I am happy to be home after a very long week and I have so many cool projects on the horizon I can't waste any time! This past week was the busiest week I've had all year if I am being honest.  And while I DID make and finish this project by the end of day Sunday I just didn't have it in me to get the blog posted last night.   I wanted to whip this week's project up for a while and it was the perfect thing after a week of "Horning" it up at the International Horn Society's 50th Symposium.  It took me about an hour from start to finish, which is about all I had time for, mentally and physically!

Me and a GIANT straight mute!

Last week started with me driving from Chicago, IL to Muncie, IN for the big IHS conference.  I had a blast and our group killed our performance (audio to come to our website soon!) From Muncie I drove to Indianapolis, IN to have a quick breakfast with my Uncle and his family and then back to Chicago.  Thursday had me at a doctors appointment and an evening "off", though I had quite a bit of music to look at for the coming weekend.  Friday was P's last day at summer camp so I dropped her off at the park and took Bubba in for his 15 mo check up.  A quick stop at Target then we were back to the park to see the end of summer "show".  I managed to get home in time to shower and head out to the Indiana Dunes where I had an outdoor concert.  Saturday was a long day as well, starting out in Woodstock, Il (it's close to the WI border).  Two, two and a half hour rehearsals and it was a mad dash back down to Indiana for another out door concert.  The humidity was ridiculous.  I literally couldn't hold onto my horn I was sweating so bad! Sunday found me back in Woodstock for another rehearsal and concert.  I was so happy to get home last night.  I walked through the door about 6:45 and had finished this week's project by about 8pm! So, what is it????

"Necessity is the mother of invention."

I think this phrase can sum up the mind of a "maker", "crafter", "inventer".  I am pretty sure 90% of my projects have started with..."what I need here is"... or "I love this but I'd add (or remove) X"!  If you're familiar with playing a brass instrument you are no stranger to the ... 'water' or 'spit' issue.  Technically it is merely condensation (well I am sure there is some saliva in there) but regardless what you call it, it needs to be emptied. When in rehearsals or concerts we just empty right on the floor.  But every so often you'll play a church or event facility where they will actually ask that you not 'spit' on their floor.  It's understandable but when they throw down a paper towel I usually want to laugh because what we put out will usually go right thru that with in the first 30 minutes of playing! When in my own studio I usually just empty onto my rug...well when I had a black shag rug but I upgraded the decor in there and I don't feel comfortable blowing spit, oil and slide grease on my new creme rug.  I used to have a towel I'd throw down on the floor but inevitability it would get taken by "someone" to clean up some mess by somewhere else in the house or in extreme cases the water would soak thru, getting the floor wet anyways. Lately I have been using an older lambskin shammy but it looks so dirty and I don't think I can actually wash it, which with saliva and oils I want to.

When we began our cloth diaper journey we were introduced to PUL, a waterproof, yet washable, fabric.  I was going thru my fabric stash the other day and found a ton of PUL I bought with the intention of making my own diaper covers and wet bags (I actually have made my own wet bags and they are awesome btw!).  I instantly knew I could back a towel in PUL and fix my seepage problem while at the same time being pleasing to the eye and washable! Yay for hygiene!!

Cute PUL I bought years ago.  The bird side is a nice soft fabric and the inside shiny part is the laminated, waterproof side.

I had the intention to applique either "spit happens" or a target sign on the absorbent side but I found these great, textured, towels at Target and abandoned that idea. To complete this you simple cut the PUL to the same size as your town and sew together with right sides facing, leaving a gap for turning out.  I wanted to reduce the bulk on the edges when I turned to top-stitch so I actually seam ripped the finishing edges of the towel.

What worked really was was putting the red, ball end of the seam ripper into the seam and just literally running the seam ripper down the seam.  I would advise to do this on a hard surface though so you control it better.  I wasn't paying attention and...

...this happened...*le sigh*.  Oh well...nothing a rotary cutter and ruler can't fix.  I just cut the edges off and kept going.

Once I had my towel cut square (or as square as I could get it!) I sewed it to the PUL with right sides facing and a million clips.  Even with all the clips the PUL shifted a bit, which is pretty par for the course.  I turned it inside out and with the iron on warm (you don't want to melt your PUL) I carefully ironed the edges, clipped again and top-stitched.  I used a blue thread for the top and white in the bobbin so the top-stitching would ultimately disappear.  I should also add that when sewing PUL you want to use a stretch or ball point needle so you do not "tear" holes in your fabric.  Trust me on this... it may not make a big impact on something like this but other items that need to be completely waterproof it makes a very big difference!

I know, super simple, but so effective.  I don't worry about what I am "dumping" on my floor.  I can oil my horn or empty the water with zero concern about ruining my rug.  I can wash and dry it and fold it up and take it with me if needed! In fact I bought a matching wash cloth to make a small "travel size" one to stick in my case for those times I am rehearsing in someone else's home or venue that isn't as comfortable with the brass "unloading" on their floors!! HA